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MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016 | VOLUME 130 ISSUE 20
Sports >> 8 Sporting KC drops its first match of the year
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
9
21
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
DAY IN THE LIFE
KANSAN.COM
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF: TASHITSO ANAMZA
BIOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENT FROM TIBET
by Courtney Bierman @courtbierman
Kelcie Matousek // Kansan
Kelec Matousek // Kansan Tashitso Anamza, now a graduate student at KU, received an associate's degree from Qinghai Normal University in China and a bachelor's degree at KU in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
As the eldest child of a nomadic family in Tibet, Tashitso Anamza spent much of her youth helping her family herd yaks and other livestock for meat and dairy products.
Now, 25 years later, she can usually be found in the University's Natural History Museum or riding her bike on the Lawrence River Trails. This summer she will receive her Master's degree from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Since coming to the United States eight years ago, Anamza has immersed herself in her studies. When she's not assisting an introductory biology class or examining specimens in a lab, she's working on her master's thesis about the biodiversity of Philippine frogs.
After getting over the initial culture shock of being half a world away from home, Anamza says she quickly came to appreciate life as a college student in the United States.
"When I first came here, it was very different," she said. "I really like the libraries here — it's open, you have access to computers [...] it's not like this [where] I went to school. We never had computers. But now I'm kind of used to it."
Anamza grew up in
and his family.
the region of Amdo, the northernmost of Tibet's three regions and the birthplace of the current Dalai Lama. She left home to attend boarding school at a young age, but her family didn't have a car. Since the school was five hours away by horseback, she was only able to return home twice a year. In 2006, Anamza was hosting a group of Americans in her village who had traveled to Tibet to work on various NGO (Non-governmental-related) projects. One of those Americans was a donor who brought up the idea of studying in the United States.
University lecturer Deborah Peterson of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures is involved with an NGO that does environmental and educational work in Tibet. When Peterson was assisting a project, which Anamza had proposed, to fund a library of a monastery in a nearby village, the two met.
Their friendship is one of the reasons Anamza chose the University over other American schools.
"I think the decision [to study in America] was kind of not only for me," she said. "It's a result of communal interaction."
Anarza had excelled in school and had already received an associate degree in language from Qinghai Normal University in China. She had also worked on and headed projects intended to improve the quality of life for people in her home region.
With an American education, she thought her efforts could become more effective.
After a lengthy application process, Anamza arrived in Lawrence in 2008 as an undergraduate thanks to the sponsorship from the American donor
"Tashitso's a remarkable person — extremely independent, brilliant but also she's a testimony to the value of educating women," Peterson said. "She single-handedly changes life for the better in this place where she's from as an example of the power of educating women."
Due to a lack of resources, very few Tibetans study biology abroad, and women in particular are underrepresented. Although she was able to take math, chemistry, Chinese and other basic courses in Tibet, Anamza said a biology class wasn't offered.
Money is also a contributing factor. In Tibet, where average per capita income is only about $5,000 per year, many families are simply unable to send their children to school.
"You don't really get much chance if you're born in this [nomadic] family," Anamza said. "They don't have a lot of money to send you abroad."
After finishing graduate school at the University, Anamza will start work on her Ph.D; she knows
she wants to teach eventually, possibly even back in Tibet. But Anamza stresses that she would not be where she is without outside financial support.
"For me, I really met very generous people. Without their support, I couldn't make it this far
because it's too expensive," she said. "I want to continue to do this kind of work and then get my Ph. D and then do research or teach to other people what I learned — basically, contribute back."
Edited by Michael Portman
time," Kokobobo said. "Then two weeks ago I received an email saying that I had received the grant."
Kokobobo said the grant, part of the NEH program, Enduring
and philosophical works to talk about community and the moral and ethical responsibilities that people have toward one another," Kokobobo said. "Then towards the end of the course we'd talk about community in 21stst
as advertise components
yours
Kokobobo said she hopes to have the course fulfill an ethics and
"Part of the requirement for the course is for students to help out at a soup kitchen for a couple hours," Kokobobo said.
Edited by Garrett Long
Alex Robinson/KANSAN
Alex Robinson/KANSAN Ani Kokobobo, Slavic Professor, poses with her picture of Russian Author Tolstoy. Kokobobo is receiving a grant from National Endowment for the Humanities to teach a course on ethics and community in 19th century Russian literature.
According to the AP release, Self is the first Kansas coach to win the distinction twice while at the University. The only other Kansas coach to win the award was Roy Williams in 1992.
On Thursday, Kansas coach Bill Self was named National Coach of the Year by the AP, according to a KU Athletics release. Right now, Self is in Houston, where the Final Four is taking place, to accept the award.
Year by the AP
This year, Self received 21 of a possible 65 votes. Xavier's Chris Mack came in second with 15 votes; Oregon's Dana Altman received 13, according to the release.
▶ SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
Self coached the Jayhawks to a 33-5 record in the 2015-16 season, falling in the Elite Eight. The team earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2016 NCAA tournament, following a season in which it won the Big 12 regular season title and tournament.
Kansas also won the Maui Jim Maui Invitational earlier in the year. On January 30, the team picked up a win in the Big 12/SEC Challenge against Kentucky.
This is the second time Self has won the award from the AP. He racked up National Coach of the Year honors from the outlet in 2009.
USA Today, Bleacher Report and the NABC have also named Self as National Coach of the Year for this season.
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